Canadien 🐟

[split rivet]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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[tough bridge]

Je ne mange pas de poisson = "I don't eat fish" (in general)

Je ne mange pas du poisson you would only use it in case you are designating a fish that is currently present, and that you don't intend to eat.

and even then, je ne mange pas de ce poisson would be better in that context

[neat folio]

@tough bridge I learned this. « Pour exprimer une quantité indéterminée, on utilise l’article partitif (du, de la, de l’, des) » when does this apply?

[tough bridge]

for instance if you want to say "some cheese"

the quantity is not precisely defined

so you say "du fromage" in french

"some grapes" --> des raisins

[stable flax]

I think it's better to learn when the full partitive article (du, de la, de l', des) applies

Then learn when the reduced partitive article (de, d') applies

#salle-de-classe message

^ Has stuff on the reduced form

[neat folio]

So if I want to say I don’t eat fish je ne mange pas de poisson but if I want to say I don’t eat some fish I say je ne mange pas du poisson?

[stable flax]

Nah

[neat folio]

Ok I’ll read it

[stable flax]

Both would be Je ne mange pas de poisson

Wait actually

[tough bridge]

yeah you would use de anyways

[stable flax]

Here in the second sentence did you mean "I don't eat some types of fish, but I eat other types of fish"?

[tough bridge]

du would be used to say: "that's fish" --> c'est du poisson

"some types of fish" would be certains types de poisson

it's not always a literal translation that works

[stable flax]

Yeah

I was thinking of when you're making a correction

[tough bridge]

yeah like "C'est de la viande ? Non c'est du poisson" = "Is that meat ? No that's fish."

[stable flax]

Yeah

But tbh I think you should learn that after you master the basics

of the partitive article

at least that's how I did it and it wasn't too confusing